Hathaway Brown School's Project Based Learning Approach in Early Childhood Education

that children at this age learn in a different way than elementary school children well they're very sensory based hands-on based cooperative learning is important being able to ask questions and figure out their own answers and so with the project approach the first phase is just getting to know what the children want to know about where we start is where the children are and so we're working with their prior prior knowledge and we're looking at a book how can we find something that's going to excite them and really build an environment so that they can engage you kind of have to take the cues from the class not only and what their interests are but also in kind of what they need socially emotionally and things like that so this class in particular needed to care for something we also wanted to show that you can be powerful and also gentle and so that's kind of what wasty Lions as and that's kind of where the lion came from in the second phase that's when the children start going on a field trip possibly start creating an area in the classroom that they want to reflect what they aren't learning about of course that involves a lot of research for the for the children's part so they now know a lot about what a grassland looks like what kind of climate that means lines need to be more what do they eat we have to provide food with your line and so they built a whole a whole environment for the lion and then the lion is going to have to have friends too so that brings in some other animals and then one of the children said well how can we get through the grasslands so they ended up building a big care of Anna put in a project you have a child who will get into it through maybe they'll make signs maybe they'll build something for Lobby maybe they will write a story about him CS writing so that they see writing has a purpose writing has letters and kind of pulling that attention in not in such an obvious this is the letter L today we're learning now it's on with Lobby starts with L what sound do you hear it's lovey and so it's a little bit different and it's pulling their interest in something in in something they love and so it means more to them that way it's important to note it doesn't take over the whole classroom so it's not like everything has to be about lions so some so it's just we might have project work time but we're still doing you know literacy based activities and math based activities which are also woven into the project so it's all woven together but it's important that I think parents know it doesn't take over assessment is really ongoing in the early childhood classroom children are developmentally so on such a continuum at this age if we see that one child is is maybe really working on linear counting to ten and another child can count to 100 we can begin to to work with both of them we can begin to individualize that learning very easily within the context of the project it's just a really active and engaging method of teaching I think that I've enjoyed it's challenging but it's fun what do you wonder about we know is early childhood educators that play is their mind figuring out how something is working which is why children like the box that the toy comes in because it gives them the idea of it can be anything I want it to be what do I want it to be for that play is really important it's not just if playtime now now it's work time mmm children don't see that differently they don't see that differently so being outside and running and climbing and playing tag is just as important as sitting down writing your name and you know drawing and they have said as much that that sometimes they can't sleep at night they're so excited about what they're going to begin to do the next day as a parent and an educator I see everything coming together through a project all the different learning skills there math the socialization collaboration all of those skills come together through a project and I can see that with my daughter as well because she can explain what's happening in the classroom and then at dinner her brother will be talking about what's happening in his classroom and she'll say we have a connection that's happening in my classroom too and she can explain the connection and as a parent that's my hope for my child that what they learn at school they can apply to real life

Channel: Hathaway Brown School

Views: 17,654

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Id: zCjWp62MbIg

Length: 5min 32sec (332 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 22 2016